Samuel L. Jackson followed career advice from Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis gave Samuel L. Jackson some sage career advice when they were making 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' together.

Samuel starred opposite the Hollywood action man in the 1995 movie - the third film in the 'Die Hard' series featuring Willis' character John McClane - and he's revealed his co-star told him to find a character he could fall back on if his films start to bomb at the box office.

The actor explained to Vanity Fair magazine: "He told me: 'Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves'.

"He said: 'Arnold’s [Schwarzenegger] got 'Terminator'. Sylvester’s [Stallone] got 'Rocky', 'Rambo'. I’ve got John McClane'."

Jackson revealed his reaction to the advice was: "Oh, okay" but years later he realised he had done exactly what Willis had told him to be landing the role of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series.

He added: "It didn't occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role - and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury - that: 'Oh, I'm doing what Bruce said. I've got this character now'."

Jackson previously revealed he was shocked to have landed a nine-picture deal with Marvel and worried he might not live long enough to see out the contract.

He told GQ magazine: "How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It's not the quickest process in the world. I didn't know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years. That's kind of crazy."

Willis made five 'Die Hard' movies with the series ending with 'A Good Day to Die Hard' in 2013 before he retired from acting in 2022 after he was diagnosed with language disorder aphasia and later frontotemporal dementia.

Jackson played Avengers chief Fury in more than 10 Marvel films, and he previously admitted he was happy starring in big budget comic book movies rather than trying to win Oscars.

He told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: "I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor.

"My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I'm doing? I'm not doing statue-chasing movies.

"You know: 'If you do this movie, you'll win an Oscar.' No, thanks. I'd rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being ['Star Wars' character] Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand."